"You guys pretty much took away the only thing I could protect myself with"

In the case that is full of unexpected twists and turns, a trial that seems never-ending, defense witnesses being called out of order, the last two days of testimony added nothing new to the defense's cases. Two days of testimony in the Tree case that only helped in increasing juror fatigue.

There were small scores, that benefited the prosecution, and these were from defense witnesses. There was one small fact that may possibly benefit the defense. It all depends on the eye of the juror.

The defense called Officer Justin Winkle who is currently employed with HSU but last year was an EPD officer. He was called by the defense in an effort to rehash the other suspect theory, specifically regarding Melvin Matthews. In previous testimony, why this lead was explored and not pursued was addressed. Officer Winkle had investigated an incident involving domestic violence that involved Steven Upton and Matthews. Testimony was brief and defense did not achieve anything.

Then they called Officer Ed Wilson in an attempt to discredit Steven Upton. All they ended up doing was reaffirming testimony by previous prosecution witnesses about how upset and agitated Upton was. When they tried to bring out in testimony that Upton had a firearm, the quote provided by Officer Wilson only bolstered the point that Upton was scared after his friend Rhett August was shot. He told Officer Wilson, "You guys pretty much took away the only thing I could protect myself with." This was a reference to a firearm  law enforcement had taken from him.

Then the defense called a witness who did not show up and when he finally did, told defense counsel in the hallway, "I am not trying to run away." This was the taco truck owner that Sean Butler-Smith attempted to rob. His testimony, and his own words confirmed Smith's version that he testified to in Court. On cross, Ms. Firpo was able to bring out that Smith was nervous, this was similar to what Smith said.

Why the defense could not wait to call these witnesses once the People had rested their case is a mystery. They are local, they are not Coroners or experts that need to book their schedule in advance.

The next witness was back to the prosecution case. Curt Branscome, a neighbor who lived across the street from August. He confirmed the testimony of other witnesses time of the gunshots, that they were four and close together , that a car drove away that he did not know and then the black car that he recognized from August's residence that exited rapidly. The only minor discrepancy was that he described the getaway car differently. This is less than ideal lighting.

Today, Ms. Firpo recalled Officer Victoria Marr from the APD and through her testimony raised questions about the defense assertion where the shooter was allegedly standing. Then she questioned Sgt. Bob Martinez from APD to challenge Shane Goodrich's testimony in court. Prosecution witness Dale Cloutier was recalled to talk about blood spatter and he cited more recent studies and challenged defense expert Jacob Swanepol's testimony.

The defense is being even more aggressive, interrupting witnesses despite Judge's instruction's that one person speak at one time, cutting answers off when they do not get the result they wish. And Mr. Russo is doing more of the questioning. Yesterday, it seemed we waited for a long time for the taco truck owner to show up. Today due to a miscommunication, we had to wait less time for Mr. Cloutier but the defense was impatient.

The courtroom fatigue of pointless questioning is even affecting Bodhi Tree. When your client glances at the clock repeatedly, maybe the defense should take a hint.